


The Tiger and The Crane

by Kayani_Iriel



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Ballroom Dancing, Costume Parties & Masquerades, M/M, Wranduin Week, Wranduin Week 2020, pre-Legion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:09:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26385418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kayani_Iriel/pseuds/Kayani_Iriel
Summary: Desperate to see Anduin, Wrathion infiltrates a masquerade to find him.
Relationships: Wrathion/Anduin Wrynn
Comments: 8
Kudos: 43





	The Tiger and The Crane

**Author's Note:**

> Wranduin Week 2020 Day #4: Free Day!
> 
> Special thanks to CompSciGirl for the ideas for the costumes!

I brushed a tiny piece of lint off my brocade jacket, and tried not to fidget as I waited behind a woman in an ornate, green peacock mask. The line into the ballroom was crowded with nobles in outfits of all kinds, as befitting a masquerade. It seemed that birds were the theme of the year: peacocks and swans for the ladies, hawks and eagles for the men.

I reached the head of the line, and presented the invitation to the servant. He barely glanced at, choosing instead to stare at my costume. I preened. I had spent considerable time on it, and the details were flawless. The pale blue brocade coat fitted me like a second skin, and the tailored white linen shirt I had buttoned to my throat fit to perfection. My mask would look like a fantasy to anyone who hadn’t seen Xuen themselves, and that would be most of the people gathered tonight.

“Have a good evening, sir,” the servant mumbled, waving me in.

“Thank you, I shall.”

I strode into the ballroom, head high. I deserved to be here. I deserved to see him. Nevermind that Left had filched the invitation from a noble’s house, and there was likely a price on my head. This mattered.

I noticed Spymaster Shaw up against one wall, copper hair, matched daggers, and alert posture giving him away, despite the feathered eagle’s mask he wore. He scanned the room, stopping when he saw me. His thorough inspection made me glad I’d procured the charm to hide the glow of my eyes, otherwise this would have been a short night. Just in case, I moved away at an angle, putting space between us.

A lovely woman dressed as a white dove crossed in front of me, and I seized the chance. “My lady, would you care to dance?”

She curtsied low, a smile showing beneath the half mask. “Of course.”

I took her hand, leading her out. Fitting in between the moving couples, I took her hand, and we began to dance. She moved gracefully, nearly as good a dancer as I. Silently I thanked Left and Right for making sure I knew all the dances before coming. I was naturally graceful and a quick learner, but there was no need to make a fool of myself.

We moved, weaving with the other couples on the floor, joining a menagerie of birds, bears, and large cats. A tall man in a black bear’s mask spun past us, and I marked him as someone to request a dance of later, as well as his partner, another man as a handsome fox.

As the song ended, I bowed to my dove, and faded back into the crowd. Taking a wineglass from a servant, I sipped, surveying the nobles. I had appeared fashionably late, and while I had danced, the room had filled. Finding him in here was going to be impossible.

Unless.

I squinted, looking across the room. There, with Shaw, was someone dressed as a lion. Could it be that simple?

I wove through the room’s occupants, taking a circuitous route so I wouldn’t attract attention from my quarry. I drew stares, but no one was rude enough to bother me. I kept checking to make sure the lion stayed near the Spymaster, in case I needed to adjust my course.

Chi-ji stepped in front of me, stopping me. “Great tiger Xuen,” he said, voice strong. “Would you join me in a dance?”

I reminded myself not to to let my jaw drop. The costume was perfect, a fiery red brocade jacket, edged in gold, with a loose white silk shirt, and matching pants. Soft boots, trimmed in red and gold, and red gloves. The mask of white feathers, with a fall of scarlet and golden down the back, hiding his hair. He was the crane, incarnate.

I faltered. So close, but not close enough.

“Of course,” I said. One dance. One, and then I could go looking for the lion. My lion.

He bowed, and offered an arm. I took it, letting him move me out.

“Shall I lead, or you?”

“I’ll lead,” I said. Truthfully, I hadn’t learned the other steps, so if he wanted me to follow, I’d likely tread on his toes, and that would be a disaster.

He nodded, turning to me, and set his hands in position. I took a quiet breath, then moved. It took a couple steps, but we found our rhythm quickly, and soon, we were moving about the floor as if we’d been dance partners for years, not moments.

When the song ended, I was prepared for the customary bow, so I could go search for the lion, but he surprised me. “Another?”

“Very well.”

This was a waltz, and he moved in closer. I was more sure of myself with this dance, and was able to spend more time looking at him than worrying about our position on the floor. He was tall and slim, but not thin. He danced with grace, and seemed to trust I’d not lead him into someone, for his eyes were on mine the entire time. Eyes that were a deep, deep blue, like the sky on a cloudless summer day.

Eyes as familiar to me as Left or Right’s.

I almost stopped when I realized it was him. It was only the hours of dance practice that kept my feet moving.

I must have made some error, because he cocked his head at me, much like a bird. “Is there a problem, great tiger?”

I turned him, grateful the dance gave me a moment to formulate a response. “No problem at all, honorable, Chi-ji. Merely thinking you reminded me of someone.”

His shoulders drooped, just the smallest amount. “I was afraid of that.”

I pulled him closer, aware that I was violating courtly rules. “I’ll not speak of it to anyone,” I murmured in his ear, feeling him shiver. He nodded at me, a faint smile on his face. With regret I withdrew back to a respectable distance. We danced on, his movements perfectly mirroring mine.

The music ended, and couples broke apart and formed pairs around us, but he didn’t move, staying in my arms. The black bear approached us, eyes on him, but I warned him away with a small shake.

“Keeping the others at bay, Xuen?”

“You don’t seem to desire another partner.”

“I don’t.”

The music began, and we moved together again. Like we had in Pandaria, once he’d healed enough to dance. Those nights were etched into my heart, and now, a new memory beside them. He shifted closer, and I simply slipped my hands tighter about him, moving with his effortlessly. I could do this all night.

Another waltz, and this one his eyes never left mine. The ballroom melted away. There was only him, and I, and the music, sweeping us about. His hands were cool and calloused, but firm. His thumb played with my hand as we danced, threatening to distract me.

When the song ended, he gave me a deep bow, and stepped back into the crowd, vanishing among the nobles.

I took a step to follow, but everyone shifted, putting the lion I had been looking for in my path. I knew now I’d been mistaken, this man was too bulky for whom I’d sought, and found. He was easily twice as big, and the scowl on his face left little doubt as to who he was.

“Another Celestial,” King Varian Wrynn growled. “Every time I think we’ve left that Sha forsaken place behind, someone gets the bright idea to bring it back.”  
He gave me a long stare, and pointedly turned his back, striding off.

I took another glass of wine and sipped. “That went well,” I said to no one in particular. Moving through the crowds, I searched for scarlet and gold, for a feathered headdress, and found nothing. Eventually I ended up on the far side of the room, near a door. A grand balcony lay beyond it, looking mostly empty.

With a nod to Shaw, who was standing guard, I pushed through the door, and slipped outside. The cool night air was a welcome change from the stuffiness of the ballroom, and I breathed deeply. Couples dotted the railing, and tucked into the darker recesses of the balcony. I moved along, careful to not to disturb anyone, and headed for the steps at one end. Once down them, I stepped into the garden. Lit by only a few mage lights, it appeared no one had ventured this way. Yet.

Finishing my wine, I set the glass down on a bench and walked further, behind tall bushes. So he was hiding in plain sight as Chi-ji. It was a fitting costume, and would allow him freedom of movement, freedom to dance and flirt with whomever he wished. The mask hid much, but he looked incredible. Slim, strong, he had moved with grace. It had been a few years since I’d seen him last, since that fateful night I’d knocked him unconscious, but I’d thought about him every day. Missed him, really.

“This is where the mighty Xuen hides, when not dancing?” His voice was quiet, but I heard him clearly.

I turned. He stood behind me, almost close enough to touch. As I waited, he took another step closer, closing the distance between us. He reached out, putting a hand on my waist.

“Anduin,” I breathed, and then my lips were on his.

He wrapped his arms around me, clinging tightly, lips soft. I held him as gently as I could, afraid he’d disappear again. I longed to remove our masks, to run my hands through his golden hair, but didn’t.

“You obviously know me, but I can’t place you,” he whispered, when we broke apart.

I pulled back, gazing into those familiar eyes. “You know me, but it’s not important.”

Instead of an answer, he kissed me again, and all my problems ceased mattering. Not only had I found him, he was in my arms. It was enough. He was warm, and solid, and real, making up for the time we’d been apart. The time in Draenor, the time spent wondering if I’d ever see him again.

Voices near us broke the spell, and we split apart. I straightened my mask, ensuring it hadn’t ridden too far up, and he ran hands over his feathers. I looked down, not daring to meet his eyes.

“I have to go.” His hand reached out, squeezing mine briefly. He slipped away.

I took several deep breaths, then stepped out from behind the bush. He was nowhere to be found, not that I had expected him to be. I made my way back up the stairs, to the balcony.

Shaw greeted me at the top.

“Greetings, Master Shaw,” I said breezily. “I suppose you’re here to tell me it’s time I left.”

“I am.”

I nodded. “How’d you know?”

He shrugged, leaning against the wall. “I didn’t, not until his highness danced with you. Then it was obvious.”

“Obvious to whom?” I refused to let concern show.

“To me. And only me. Although, you did get the gossip going. If anyone figures out he’s the crane, everyone will want to know about the tiger that managed to steal that many dances with him.”

“Can’t let that get out.”

“No, we cannot. So you need to go, Black Prince. You’ve overstayed your welcome.”

I bowed to him. “Consider me gone.”

I wove through the crowded ballroom, dodging nobles with ease. At the exit, I took one last look back. There he was, standing to one side, next to his father. Our eyes locked, and he gave me the slightest nod. I inclined my head, and left.

**Author's Note:**

> I had hoped to get 3 prompts done for this week. I'm caught in the Oregon fires, and being evacuated. There's a fire about a mile from my house, not contained. So this might be my only prompt because it was done early.


End file.
